05/12/201324/06/2018 by jo

You Can Shop Local With MyHigh.St

I like to support local businesses where we are as much as possible – especially with all the recent articles about big online retailers who shall remain nameless right now. We’ve some great shops, but they don’t stock everything – but fear not, help is on the way with MyHigh.st!

MyHigh.St concentrates on local shops and has some fabulous choice – and even better, you can order online. There’s so much choice – from food to craft to crockery to bakeware, creams, lotions and potions, and gadgets too!

The site looks lovely. For me, part of a good shopping experience is a good looking site – and MyHigh.St has just that; a good logo, the right fonts, enough information. It’s somewhere I enjoyed having a good browse.

Because of my terrible lack of style, I like to have things around me that don’t match so somehow one day they will. This is why this wonderful purple cookware fry pan jumped out at me.

Who doesn’t want a purple frying pan? Seriously, I love it! I NEED it. What’s your favourite colour?

One thing I’m bad at is sleeping. Which is why this Sleepy Cream jumped out at me – it looks lovely and boy, do I need some sleep. If you click their shop name (Querencia) you can see a picture of their premises. If I happened to be in Stroud this is exactly the sort of shop I’d go into. I quite like that about the site – you get an idea of the kind of things the shops sell, you get a feel for them. They’re online shops with personalities!

In our house you can never have too many mugs. Especially if they’re Brontë themed – but if all else fails, Emma Bridgewater has half pint mugs too! With spots! Obviously I need it to go with my purple frying pan and orange Brontë cup.

I think you’ll find I have impeccable taste!

Shaun says he would buy this Stellar Electrical Stand Mixer as he’s always wanted one and as he does like to try all our gadgets at home. The most pleasing thing is that the shops on MyHigh.St don’t just stock local things – there’s big brands for sale – but you’re supporting the local shops.

That’s not all. The shops within MyHigh.St have a points system, Hi-Points – you earn one Hi-point per £1 spent to spend online with them. As someone who keeps many kinds of points this sort of shopping appeals to me!

I was going to add how I wish the site broke up the shops into areas (especially as they offer click & collect for some purchases) when I stumbled across this page – it’s going to happen! You can discover some new high streets – I can’t wait for it to launch! At a time when we’re all being encouraged to shop local, this kind of setup, and it being free is brilliant – I’ve already recommended it to one of my local stores, hopefully they’ll get on board!

This is my entry for a MyHigh.st blogger competition to try and win £200 to spend on the site – all items above are ones we’d definitely buy!

20/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Christmas Gift Ideas – The Because I Like Shopping at Uniqlo Edition

My workmate today realised there’s One Whole Month left before we finish for the year. This is a good thing as our section of the office is F R E E Z I N G. We’re all SO cold. Fortunately Uniqlo have their Heattech range and just to taunt me that little bit more there’s a fabulous Orla Kiely range within that. At a bargain £12.90 for each top I had to buy another today – especially as I’m wearing one every day (I have five now, not the same one every day!!) – I do love shopping at Uniqlo!

My problem with Uniqlo when they do a range with a designer I like is that I end up wanting to buy everything. This Orla Kiely range is no different – although only available in v-neck or polo neck (I usually prefer round neck ones).

They also had some of the last Celia Birtwell range reduced – so I picked up a yellow stripe long sleeved top for £7.90

Those alone, if anyone bought me them for Christmas would make me a very happy lady. They’ve got Fair Isle style knits in store – gloves, hats and scarves, and fleeces of all manner of colours, jackets for this horrid cold weather and really reasonably priced jeans.

I’ve loved Uniqlo for years as I’ve found their clothes to be great quality and my kind of style. I love they’re working with designers and that each range has something most people will like. They’re not too girly and they’re not too plain.

I also love the 10 Gruppen fleece range and sent Shaun out to one of the West End branches to pick me up this fleece, which I’m really pleased with.

I like quirky and interesting, and always end up clashing my patterns, but fortunately work is SO cold that I have my fleece zipped up all day so nobody ever knows… phew!

Uniqlo are even doing underwear these days. I haven’t bought any yet, but they look pretty comfortable so I’m sure it won’t be much longer… as a footnote, we finally got to the Wimbledon store and bought some of the kids range – and we’re really happy with it – and there’s plenty of Heattech choice there too. I love shopping at Uniqlo!

this post contains affiliate links

19/11/201326/03/2018 by jo

Christmas Gift Ideas – You Don’t Need To Spend a Lot

You don’t need to spend a lot of money at Christmas. Every year I fall into the trap and spend far too much – I’m sure we all do. This year I’m attempting to be sensible – starting with setting a strict £30 budget (which I’ve gone over by £5). It’s doable as long as you have some idea of what you’re buying. (H has been asking for a PlayDoh ice cream parlour since her birthday so I kept my eye out for good offers and got it for £15 in the end – it has a RRP of £25)

This year I started picking up bargains I spotted online and in stores – Tiger Stores has loads of traditional games, often wooden ones which appealed – they’ve got a kids toys section on their UK site (it’s not an online store) and most gifts come in at less than £5.

The Entertainer has a store near work, and I’m pleased they have games like Mouse Trap and Operation on offer. Someone in-store told me they were holding stock back as the offer had been so popular so they’d have enough to keep them going until Christmas. I got Operation for £6 which I’m happy with. We had both games when I was young and I know that H will enjoy them too – and I’m looking at games we might not play with immediately but could be ones that stick around for a while. H keeps requesting the Doggie Doo game…. well she is four!

Amazon have had some book deals lately – I’ve picked up some classics for just £1 new which are great stocking fillers. We’ve also had some good local markets near us which have great deals on new books that we’ve stocked up on, so don’t rule out shopping locally!

I’m always on the lookout for good toy deals in shops – we’ve recently had a Kiddicare store open in Croydon which is fantastic, they’ve got a 3 for 2 on ALL toys going on at the moment. They’ve also got free next day delivery on all orders over £29.99 – and considering I have an extra child to buy for this year, this works out a really good deal – I’ve just saved myself £17, and can get delivery to work tomorrow as well. Now THAT is convenient! Oh, and they accept PayPal as payment too – more shops should do this.

I’ve bought a book ‘Homemade‘ as a present which has some brilliant ideas. Essentially, you can make your own everyday items – from baking preserves, home remedies, cleaning solutions, beauty products, confectionery and pet care. I know someone who will enjoy this book a lot… hopefully she won’t be reading this post…

So far, not too much spent anyway… there’ll be more Christmas Gift Ideas tomorrow…

12/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Topsy and Tim – The Verdict!

At 5.30 last night (and tonight) someone aged almost four and a quarter told me to “ssssh. I’m watching THIS” and then sat in silence for ten minutes, her face had a smile as what was once just some books became a reality. Topsy and Tim with real people – not a cartoon.

She LOVED it! She giggled at the duvet monsters and looked wide eyed as the story started. It’s a huge hit in this house.

This initial run will be just fifteen episodes long for the first series, and lasting just three weeks. That’s okay though, as it will be back – we already know they’ve filmed quite a few episodes.

As for me, I was impressed. They’re not going to follow the books as such, but they’re staying faithful to them with ordinary everyday events – and it’s a nice touch at the end having a little memory game.

From chatting to other mums it sounds like it was a big hit for our four year olds (and us parents too) – don’t forget to watch it every afternoon at 5.30 on Cbeebies!

07/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Haven Littlesea

We’ve just got back from our third Haven break this year, and this time we opted for the camp at Haven Littlesea near Weymouth. Yep, back to Dorset – after our last trip there was cut short with H’s illness, we felt like we still had a lot to explore around the area, and for me it would be revisiting places I haven’t been for almost three decades.

Haven Littlesea faces onto Chesil Beach, so you have a small patch of water where bathing is prohibited. If you’ve seen Chesil Beach you’ll understand how impressive it is, but views of the sea are not something you’re going to get here! Or at least from our caravan, anyway.

We knew how chilly nights could get after our Devon Cliffs break in May, so when we found an option for a caravan with heating in each room and paid a bit extra for a Prestige Caravan. We weren’t disappointed – it was new, clean although had a horrid stink. We soon worked out it was due to the bin provided – it would appear previous tenants of the space didn’t bother with bin bags, leading to rubbish caked to the bottom of the bin – a quick clean and things were fine.

We had two bedrooms and loads of space – the caravan was heated with double glazing – which looking at the Haven site seems to be something all newer models offer.

The Haven Littlesea site was good – although with this being the final week of the season I felt some of the food we’d had at the Mash and Barrel could have been better – we ate out most nights instead or bought food and cooked it at the caravan.

The FunStars entertainment was fantastic – led by Stuart they were brilliant – H found him hilarious and was happy to sit with the other kids and join in with the games, which meant we could relax and sit away from the stage and enjoy the fact she was happy and not needing us to have fun too! She particularly enjoyed dancing to the Rock N Roll Bingo theme….

Would we go back to Haven Littlesea? Yes. The staff were friendly, the entertainment complex wasn’t far to walk to and there was the obligatory soft play section which H enjoyed. Starbucks was on hand for stronger coffee as well.

Finally, my Haven Essentials list of things you should always take with you when staying there.

Towels – hand, bath, teatowels, paper ones too
Bath mat. You will need one – those bathroom floors are slippy
Cleaning cloths
Washing up liquid
Bin bags (large big black ones)
Soap for washing hands
Toilet rolls

Everything else you can buy from the Spar on-site.

The big question now is will we get to a Haven site next year? Ideally next summer we’ll be heading to Australia to visit the in-laws, but with tickets for the three of us at £3,000 it’s going to be tight!

06/11/201326/03/2018 by jo

Hi Babyboo!

Hi Babyboo is a brand new project from Scott Schulz – one of the makers of Yo Gabba Gabba and Night & Day Studios who make some fantastic apps that H enjoys playing. This looks GOOD!

Hi Babyboo will follow the same path – and I love the ideas behind it! What appealed to us the most about YGG are the musicians involved. Pinkeye from the wonderful canadian band F*cked Up have featured on stage in the past (I believe DJ Lance didn’t mention the band name…), as well as songs performed by The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals and more. Dinosaur Jr. Oh yes. So if this can happen for even younger kids then my planned takeover of indie into small children’s heads will be COMPLETE! Even better, I can make a difference.

Here’s the Hi Babyboo! press release :

Inspired by the widespread popularity of Yo Gabba Gabba, co-creator Scott Schultz and his brother Ben Schultz, Yo Gabba Gabba Music Supervisor, are embarking on a new project to bring music, art, puppets, sign language, and giggles to the youngest audiences with Hi BabyBoo!

Along with The Magic Store team that brought viewers Yo Gabba Gabba, the Schultzes are partnering with Night & Day Studios, the award-winning creators of bestselling app Peekaboo Barn, to bring the new brand to life. Intent on growing Hi BabyBoo! with fan input and support, the group is launching a Kickstarter campaign today (http://www.hibabyboo.com/Kickstarter) to fund initial development and production of the TV show and mobile app.

Like Yo Gabba Gabba, Hi BabyBoo! will engage the whole family through silly scenes, different kinds of music, colorful visuals, and puppet characters. Scott Schultz said, “I’ve always been starstruck with the baby and toddler years of life. It’s such a beautiful, happy time that, as an adult now, I love to share the experience with them. Communication goes beyond words–it’s the sights, sounds, smiles, hugs, and positive vibrations of sharing time together that are the most important things for me.”

Night & Day Studios CEO Nat Sims expressed his own enthusiasm stating, “As a parent, as a creator of educational media, and most of all, as a huge Yo Gabba Gabba fan, I’m thrilled that we get to work and play with Scott and Ben Schultz and The Magic Store team on this exciting new project. We love babies, fun, and weirdness, and it’s going to be an honor to collaborate with our fans and friends to make something truly unique.”

Hi BabyBoo! has a Facebook page here as well as the Kickstarter page – you don’t need to pledge a huge amount to make this a reality – even if you’re in the UK! Now if only I had a baby….

04/11/201326/01/2014 by jo

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash Heads to the West End for Christmas 2013!

Peppa Pig’s Big Splash West End schedule has been announced – it’s the latest in the Peppa stage shows – we saw last years Treasure Hunt show which was brilliant fun!

The Peppa Pig’s Big Splash West End dates run from the 5th December to 5th January 2014, and is Peppa’s third and longest tour. It is covering a massive 47 weeks and heading to over 80 theatres, with the biggest advance of over £1 million to date on tour opening, and her fourth consecutive West End Christmas season.

The nursery roof is leaking and Peppa and her friends need to fix it quickly. They set up a fete to raise the money for Mr Bull to do the repairs. There’s plenty of fun to be had as Peppa, George, Mummy and Daddy Pig, as well as Danny Dog, Pedro Pony and Suzy Sheep put up bunting, run stalls and organise a great day out. There’s also a Champion Puddle Jumping competition judged by Mr Potato where everyone gets wet and Peppa needs to find her Golden Boots. Another all-singing, all-dancing adventure full of songs, games and muddy puddles is guaranteed for all the family!

Peppa Pig and other characters are performed on stage with puppets and brilliant sing-a-long songs from BAFTA award-winning composer Mani Svavarsson. Richard Lewis adapts and directs this brand new show, following his previous successes with the first two Peppa Pig stage shows and the recent Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom tour. Matt Lewis is lyricist, Simon Scullion is designer, Matt Haskins is lighting designer, Ian Horrocks Taylor is sound designer and Andy Booth is music director.

PEPPA PIG’S BIG SPLASH WEST END CHRISTMAS SEASON 2013 – 2014

CRITERION THEATRE
Piccadilly Circus, London W1V 9LB

THURS 5 DECEMBER – SUNDAY 5 JANUARY
www.peppapiglive.com
BOX OFFICE: 0844 847 1778

PLEASE NOTE: Babies, 0 – 12 months of age, at the date of performance (not at the date of booking) are admitted free of charge if they are sitting on an adult’s lap. If a seat is required for a baby, it must be bought at the child rate. All children from 1 years upward must have a ticket.

THURS 5 – SUN 8 DECEMBER
Thurs 5 & Fri 6 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Sat 7 at 11 am
Sun 8 at 12 pm & 3 pm

MON 9 – SUN 15 DECEMBER
No performances on Mon 9 & Wed 11
Tues 10, Thurs 12 & Fri 13 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Sat 14 at 11 am
Sun 15 at 12 noon & 3 pm

MON 16 – SUN 22 DECEMBER
No performances on Mon 16 & Wed 18
Tues 17, Thurs 19 & Fri 20 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Sat 21 at 11 am
Sun 22 at 12 pm & 3 pm

MON 23 – SUN 29 DECEMBER
No performances on Wed 25 & Thurs 26
Mon 23 & Fri 27 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Tues 24 & Sat 28 at 11 am
Sun 29 at 12 pm & 3 pm

MON 30 DECEMBER – SUN 5 JANUARY
Mon 30, Tues 31 & Fri 3 at 11 am & 2.30 pm
Wed 1 & Sun 5 at 12 noon & 3 pm
Thurs 2 & Sat 4 at 11 am

20/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Lucozade Revive – A Revival Challenge

I was sent seven bottles of Lucozade Revive and given the task of a revival challenge – when I’m flagging during the day, try a bottle and see how it goes. I accepted of course.

Lucozade Revive is available in four flavours, and each bottle is less than 50 calories. There is caffeine in there and it became my substitute for coffee at work. Every morning I drank Lucozade Revive instead.

My honest opinion? I wouldn’t drink it every day; I stopped drinking fizzy drinks a long time ago, though way back before H was ever in existence I’d drink Diet Coke with Lime which this reminded me of. I can’t think why it does, as only the Strawberry flavour has Lime, and I couldn’t taste it.

So, what is there to say about Lucozade Revive? It’s low calorie. That is a bonus, though there are sugars and sweeteners. If you don’t mind that, you won’t mind this drink.

Did it become a good caffeine replacement? Actually, yes. I found I wasn’t snacking as much at work either – and didn’t drink any coffee at all last week (I usually need a minimum of one cup and recently had been having three large mugs of filter coffee).

Lucozade Revive is packed with energy-releasing b-vitamins (B3, B5, B6 & B12), which claim to help you keep going throughout the day. I’d say that did happen – one bottle and I didn’t need anything else.

Would I buy Lucozade Revive again? As a Diet Coke replacement, almost definitely. I don’t drink fizzy or energy drinks very often at all, usually going for a large cappuccino. As a daily drink, probably not. My daily drink is water, and I’m not as good at drinking it as I should be.

Finally, the flavours. Lemongrass with Ginger – this one felt quite lime-tasting. Interesting, though the taste stayed in my mouth for quite some time. Cranberry with Acai – I don’t remember tasting the cranberry element at all, again a bit of an aftertaste. Orange with Acai – this reminded me of Fanta, but subtler – not bad. Strawberry with Lime – a nice taste, subtle again and not too overpowering, though a bit of aftertaste. The Lucozade Revive I tried with an aftertaste was a little bit lime-y.

In summary, I would say if you’re given the option to try Lucozade Revive and like Diet Coke or other fizzy drinks with sweeteners then try it out. Be aware the caffeine content isn’t mentioned anywhere – though I have since been told it’s 10.5mg per 100ml and 40mg per 380ml for the Orange and Acai flavour – according to the Coca Cola caffeine counter a cup of filter coffee would have 140mg of caffeine so that is much lower. A can of Diet Coke is 42mg for a 330ml can.

I was sent seven bottles to try – all opinions are my own and honest.

16/10/201326/03/2018 by jo

Topsy and Tim Are Coming to Cbeebies!

When I was a little girl I was a huge Topsy & Tim fan, massive. I remember my 1970’s books – and I was pretty delighted to find one a few years ago at a car boot sale. Fast forward over thirty years, the books are still in print and now H is also a huge fan, so imagine my surprise when I spotted there has been a tv series made! Topsy and Tim are coming to Cbeebies!

Series 1 of Topsy and Tim will start on Monday 11th November at 5.30pm on CBeebies and is on every weekday afternoon!

~~Right now I can’t find any start dates other than November~~, but right now I know one little girl who will be beyond excited when I tell her what I’ve found out. There is one other thing you need to know – June Whitfield will have a role!! This may make me a little more excited than I should be, but really, June Whitfield! Topsy and Tim are coming to Cbeebies!!

Considering the books were first published in 1959, and the editions I’ve since bought, there hasn’t been a huge amount of updating to the books really – a few bits here and there but nothing too drastic. The books are over fifty years old – and in fact are still going strong. ‘Topsy and Tim Meet Father Christmas’ was published this week and it’s on the list to buy before Christmas.

What more is there to be said about this? We’re beyond excited this is happening, with real people rather than cartoon-y, and hopefully on tv at a good time after school as well! Topsy and Tim have covered so many scenarios that we’ve faced with H they’ve become a good way to help explain things (though as Alex pointed out earlier, there isn’t a book about death).

On the BBC website they say “While the stories of Topsy And Tim are told and shot from the perspective of the five year old characters as they capture everyday childhood experiences. I hope audiences will enjoy and identify with both dramas.” (there’s also a piece on Katie Morag)

So yes, SOON! Did I mention Topsy and Tim are coming to Cbeebies?

BBC Article here

Oh, and don’t get me started on The Clangers too – how excellent is all this?

02/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Party Bags

The party season never goes away, fun times. As a parent I had no idea about party bags when we did H’s 1st birthday party – everyone got a piece of cake (I think – I hope!) and a balloon (ditto) and that was it – luckily it was her first so it wasn’t like they’d expect much anyway, but as other first birthday party invites came we entered the murky world of party bags.

I’m no expert, so thought I’d add my top tips that I’ve picked up so far. I managed to get H’s party bag contents from ebay this year and I think I did pretty well – though could do better.

• Crayons. Everyone gives crayons, and you may find you end up with a tub full of the things. Never fear, as you can always melt them down and make jumbo crayons. See also : pencils. I try to avoid both as I know lots of people do them.
• Bubbles. You can’t go wrong with bubbles, although if you get a lot of parties that can also be a lot of bubbles – we currently have ten tubs in the cupboard from various bags. Keep to smaller tubs and they’ll run out faster! We need some activities for old bubble tubs… We got Magic Bubbles once – they never pop (or are difficult to, anyway) – one bubble lived for over three months in a cobweb in our house (oh the shame)
• Jigsaw puzzles. Almost every one we’ve had has been flimsy and difficult to put together and has been thrown away. If possible try to see the quality of them before you buy. There’s a reason they’re cheap…
• Noisy things. A winner! There’s a lot of choice and we found getting H to practice blowing into a party streamer or duck quacker helped her learn to whistle quicker. We’re still working on the whistling, but it’s definitely a skill they’ll pick up.
• Bouncy balls. You can never have too many of these, mainly as they’ll bounce over the fence so there’s a good losing potential here. This is an added bonus for parents who would like some of the party toys to ‘disappear’…
• Balloons. We had four balloons from parties in our front room. Sadly they met their end (two possibly via a pair of scissors, me bad), which were replaced by more balloons. They grow like weeds, and we’ve had some interesting party bag ones – the rocket balloon is currently a favourite and lasts for ages too. The rocket balloons are at the pricier end for party bags, but do seem popular – with the parents AND kids!
• Mini games. We love mini games! H got a mini connect 4 which she’s had a good play with, and one of those puzzles where you move the tiles around to make a picture which she’s had a lot of enjoyment from.
• PlayDough. Home made is good, as is shop bought. Home made is easier but shop bought takes less time. There are loads of deals for the stuff out there – I saw a buy one get one free for three tubs locally (but if you’ve got 24 kids at the party then it could work out pricey).
• Puzzle/colouring in books. These are always a winner, and I also found some magic paint ones (where you use a brush and water and the colours appear) – they usually work out about 25p each too.
• Random things. Olympics fever last year meant H had several medals in her party bags which are still played with. If the party is near a big event, why not think of something that links in with that?

Ultimately, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. This year with H’s monster theme I’ve managed to spend well under a pound per bag and still put around six things in there – I’m quite pleased with myself, and only one of them is of an unpredictable quality…

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